I Knew You When
by BeccaRamsey
Summary: Bruce has a troubling conversation with an old friend. Set sometime during the Justice League Unlimited episode, "Once and Future Thing, Part Two." (BM/WW implied; past BM/BG implied; originally written and published 2005.)


**I Knew You When**

Bruce has a troubling conversation with an old friend. Set sometime during the Justice League Unlimited episode, "Once and Future Thing, Part Two."

**Author's Notes:** Okay... I couldn't resist sharing something - especially as awesome Part 1 was. This was written before "Once and Future Thing, Part 2" aired, but I just felt someone needed to smack Bruce and get him to stop and smell the roses. Or at least the night-blooming jasmine. We didn't actually get to see his old friend... but I figured it wasn't *too* much of a stretch.

This story has been reviewed and edited only by me, so any flubs you see, I alone am responsible for.

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"You know it doesn't have to end this way."

His knuckles went white as he gripped the carved railing, gritting his teeth, eyes narrowing on the ocean beyond. The voice behind him was familiar, an odd mixture of the girl he once knew and the wizened woman she had become. She spoke quietly, barely audible over the waves that crashed against the cliffs below. When he replied, it was without turning. "Doesn't it?"

Barbara Gordon folded her arms across her chest and leant against the doorframe. "They say time travel is a fickle thing. After all, how do you determine what minute decisions you make every day can affect the fate of the world? The wings of a butterfly, and all that. You're a smart man. You know enough to realize that any changes you make in the past will eventually affect the here and now. What you see around you, Bruce, is a world of your own making – we're here because of how you, me, Terry – how we all lived our lives."

"Any changes could be catastrophic – one change I make could ruin all our lives."

"Your simply being here – knowing about the future – changes the timeline. It frees you from this ending." She paused. "You deserve better than this."

Bruce glanced over his shoulder. In the dim light of the setting sun, he could still see the rueful expression painted across her features. "You're saying I should give it up? I should just…stop?"

"I'm not saying that at all. You're a source for good, Bruce. We can all figure out what Gotham would be like - would have been like - without Batman. But maybe it's time you learned how to take a little time for Bruce Wayne, too."

"You sound like Alfred."

The commissioner gave a chuckle. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"It wasn't meant as one." Turning, Bruce leant against the railing, folding his own arms across his chest. An impish grin curved his lips despite his dark mood. "You know as well as I do that I don't have time. It's about the work – _my_ work."

Her expression mirrored his as she reached up and adjusted the wire-framed lenses currently perched across her nose. "You've changed, Bruce. I'm not sure whether you've noticed or not, but you have. You say the words, but there's regret there now."

He shook his head. "Maybe."

"You forget – I knew you when." She approached him slowly, her arms dropping to her sides. Standing a few inches before him, he finally saw her eyes clearly, glassy with unshed tears. The bright blue had faded somewhat over the years, growing translucent with age and magnified behind the strength of her lenses. Age had not been kind, but she was still Barbara – still Batgirl – at heart. "You know now what you're missing. I'm only sorry I couldn't do that for you."

His eyes widened as the import of her words settled over him. "Barbara, I never –"

"It's okay, Bruce. If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't change a thing. Every girl has to indulge in a little hero worship." She laughed. "Of course, if I never live it, then I'll never know what I missed. Do yourself a favor, Bruce: be happy. Otherwise, you'll end up recognizing too well the bitter, old man that _I_ know when you look in the mirror."

Her hand dropped from his cheek, giving his hand a squeeze as she withdrew from him. "Good luck, Bruce."

Watching her disappear into the darkness of the manor, a silence settled on him. He could still hear the crashing waves below. They were intermingled now with a sound usually alien to the manor house – laughter – as it carried down the corridor and onto the private patio. Above the voices he recognized as Lantern's and even his own, older self, he could hear _her_. Barbara's words tugged at him. "There's regret there now," she had said. To himself, he had to admit some truth to the analysis; he felt a kinship with Diana that drew him to her. That she accepted him as is – dark, brooding, and difficult – only made the attraction stronger. But had he really changed? Had _she_ already affected him enough so that even Barbara could see it?

"You forget – I knew you when." He shook his head. Yes, Barbara had known him when . . . and borne the brunt of his dark mood swings in the absence of Dick and prior to Tim Drake's appearance in his life; if anyone were qualified to notice, she was. He sighed. Maybe she was right. Maybe the change was positive. But was it enough to escape his destiny? Or would he, like the ancients, be brought low as he tried desperately to rewrite fate?

Bruce rubbed his face. "Too many questions," he said aloud. "And not enough answers." As he moved to follow in Barbara's steps, he wondered if he truly had been freed by knowledge . . . or shackled by it.


End file.
